Many days after its outbreak in China but within few days after its spread to the US, the new coronavirus has quickly become something which might decide the outcome of this year's US presidential election. A possible new game changer has already emerged.
| US President Donald Trump at a White House press meeting. Photo: Getty Images |
After China and Europe, the US is now the newest epicenter of this pandemic. US President Donald Trump quickly turned from trivializing the pandemic and hesitating to respond to applying radical measures like almost never before in America’s contemporary history. Both remaining Democratic presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, picked the pandemic as a new weighty theme for their campaign.
All the three appear to be aware of the impacts of the pandemic on American voters. Not only does it threaten the lives of the US people, but it also hurts social stability and economic growth in this country. The longer and more seriously it affects people's lives and economic growth, the less likely it is that Donald Trump would be reelected in the upcoming presidential elections on November 3. The pandemic therefore implies both new chances and greater risks for him.
If he could push back the epidemic and restore the growing pace of the US economy before the next presidential election, he would surely be re-elected. That is the reason why he hastily changed his attitude from staying passive to acting aggressively. He wants to prove himself, and be recognized by American voters, as a strong American leader with the ability to successfully handle this unprecedented crisis for the United States. He has now no other choice but to do so because as a president of action, he has to act, to deal with this crisis and to lead the US out of it while all other presidential candidates only need to present their ideas on dealing with the pandemic. Chance to win big along with risk to lose all.
Therefore, this pandemic profoundly impacts, perhaps decisively, this year's US presidential race. Other issues are now out of focus. The two Democratic presidential hopefully could take advantage of Donald Trump's possible failures, but would lose to him if he overcomes the challenges he now faces.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Ambassador Tran Duc Mau are of his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hanoitimes.
